Be the Blade Activity

How fast do you think the blades on a wind turbine are spinning? Faster than a cheetah? Challenge students to line up (locked arms) in a straight line. One student represents the hub (in the center) and will not move, just pivot. The person at the end of the line represents the tip of the blade and they will be moving quickly. Challenge students to make one rotation as quickly as they can while staying in a straight line! An extension to the activity is to record the time - check out our example "Tip Speed Spreadsheet" below for calculations.

Wind Siting

This activity was originally created for the 2022 KidWind Instant Challenge. During this 15-minute activity, students will evaluate and analyze three separate maps to determine the best location for a wind farm in a magical land. They’ll need to meet the Ruler’s requirements, avoid dragons and dinosaurs, and generate a pro and con list for each map.

To prepare, gather these items for each group of 3-4 students:

KidWind Wind Turbine Generator

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This generator has 4-foot leads which are attached with shrink-wrapped, reinforced soldering. Typical output in non-geared wind devices is 0.5–2.5 V at 0.1–0.3 A.

A KidWind Generator is the only piece of required equipment to be used during the KidWind Challenge. The Kansas Energy Program can provide generators to teams competing in the Kansas KidWind Challenge.

Vernier GoDirect Energy Sensor

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Simpler to use than a multimeter, the Go Direct Energy Sensor measures the voltage and current output of a renewable energy system. Connect a source, such as a small wind turbine or solar panel, and our free Graphical Analysis 4 app displays voltage, current, power, and energy output. For simple energy measurements, Go Direct Energy includes a fixed load of 30 Ω.

The Go Direct Energy Sensor is ideal for a wide variety of renewable energy experiments:

REcharge Power Grid Kit (KidWind)

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Students can investigate the power grid via wooden block designed with electronics. It models the flow of electricity from nuclear, coal, natural gas, wind, hydro, and solar power sources through substations before being distributed to industrial, commercial, and residential consumers. The platform can also model distributed generation in the form of solar gardens and private residential wind turbines to demonstrate the broad range of energy options possible in the future. 

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